Saturday, May 12, 2012

Last week’s article with the abovetitle elicited more responses than I have I have space to publish them in
weeks. Below is a representative sample of the responses. Next week I will
respond to some of the issues raised here.

"A
Modest Proposal" for our times? I fear that BH is the logical culmination
of the long-term process in which the boundaries between state and private
violence have blurred, with religious fanaticism serving as an excuse for BH's
evil. I may be too romantic, but my hope is in a civil society refreshed by the
organizing power of social media. There's so much decency and vision for a
hopeful future for Nigeria online. Instead of Occupy Nigeria, maybe phase 2 is
Take Back Nigeria?

Steve
Pierce, Manchester, UK

Very
objective write up, Farooq! Interesting theory, but I am not certain if
"privatized governance" is the answer though. Nigerian problems need
to be tackled by Nigerians. We need to address the root causes of religious
extremism in our northern communities - too many gullible uneducated kids on
the street, lack of economic and educational opportunities and a leadership
that is more interested in self-aggrandizement than in serving the citizenry.

Muktar
Aliyu, Nashville, USA

Just
read your column and honestly I agree with you 100%. We Muslims have been
living in self-denial about the reality of the existence of some murderous
extremists by the name of B.H. I just wonder why this same theory of conspiracy
is not being used by these groups of northerners to exonerate MEND. Unfortunately,
our Government at all levels has left us to our own fate while they spend
millions on security.

Shehu Muhammad

The
problem with many of you that are [members of the] intelligentsia is that you
listen to yourself and yourself alone. Our experience with BH is not something to be explained by mere Islamic
extremism. We have experienced religious violence in Nigeria as a result of
religion extremism but none has been sophisticated, deepening, and articulated
like BH's. If there is no direct conspiracy from Government it could be
indirect. For instance, Kabiru Sokoto was arrested, he escaped and later re-arrested by the same government security agency. When he was re-arrested
pressmen were not allowed to talk to him. When the Kaduna media houses were
bombed the citizens, and not the security, arrested the would-be bomber and
handed him over to police, yet the IGP says the fellow will not be paraded when
the public wants him to be paraded in order to be educated on the outlook of a
bomber so that we can make more arrest. Despite all the arrests made in
connection with BH none has been successfully prosecuted. With all of these
evidences and more you still want us to believe that the present government is
not conspiring against us.

Bello Kamal

I'd
like to give you the benefit of the doubt as per your research on this thorny
issue of BH. You may be reading some of the happenings online but we that are
experiencing them first-hand have all agreed to the fact that the whole
phenomenon is fuelled 80 to 90 percent by saboteurs.

Agreed the real BH could get training and expertise from AQIM, but it is
inconceivable that the level of intelligence with which they strike and inflict
damages on their targets and their sophistication of weaponry as well as the
degree with which they elude our security personnel is independent from a
strong support and finance from a sympathizer who has connections from the top
of govt.

We also believe that no sane Muslim or northerner would inflict such pain on
his brethren. You must have been aware of the accusations by the NSA, as well
as the overtaking of our security intelligence outfit by the Israelis. No
conspiracies make your analysis and deductive conclusions.
Please accept my condolences on your lecturers' demise.

Ali Baba

My feelings were reflected in your piece, and I must
say you always have an intelligent way of explaining and hitting the nail on
the head. Oh boy, did I cry when I heard of the BUK attack! I sat in the same
class as Prof Ayodele for the best part of 2 years during my undergrad studies,
as he would jokingly teach analytical chemistry to us in Hausa language! One of
my best professors he was. Oh Nigeria, my Nigeria...I have three Hausa words
for our leaders: ALLAH YA ISA!Aisha Hassan,
Ajou University.
South Korea.

After
reading the great piece, my first reaction was: if only every bloody northerner
thinks like Farooq, Nigeria would be such a great place. Maybe, it could even
realize the vision of the independence or emancipation generation. Then I
became disappointed after the insertion of the newfangled notion of
commercialization of governance, which is bringing colonialism by the back door
to Nigeria. The disappointment is I thought it is only kolanut-chewing kindred
like me who harbour such base primordial thinking. At least, that is what the
nationalist generation taught me.... I rest my case sir,

Nasiru Suwaid

Nigeria
has already been privatized with leaders and elite that cannot make decisions
domestically. Have you forgotten that we are ruled by the White House and
financial (western) institutions? Nigeria is moving to a failed state but time
shall tell.

Sadiq Ibrahim, Jos

I
prefer a more holistic theory developed via listening to both Boko Haram and
our Commander In-chief (and Mr Azazi of course). The extremist religious
ideology plus poverty may provide the willing suicide bombers. The funds and
logistical support needed to sustain the insurgency may come from disgruntled
politicians with an agenda of their own. While the religious component is
undeniable, there are a lot of signs that the political component also plays
significant role and it may even be the decisive factor in ending the menace.

Musa Bashir

I
quite agree that the situation has been allowed to go out of hand. But
generalizing every attack to BH group is erroneous going by incidences of
attacks in Bauchi, Jalingo and of recent Potiskum, so we should be analyzing
each of the attacks individually before making generalizations.

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About Me

Dr. Farooq Kperogi is a professor, journalist, newspaper columnist, author, and blogger based in Greater Atlanta, USA. He received his Ph.D. in communication from Georgia State University's Department of Communication where he taught journalism for 5 years and won the top Ph.D. student prize called the "Outstanding Academic Achievement in Graduate Studies Award." He earned his Master of Science degree in communication (with a minor in English) from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and won the Outstanding Master's Student in Communication Award.

He earned his B.A. in Mass Communication (with minors in English and Political Science) from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, where he won the Nigerian Television Authority Prize for the Best Graduating Student.

Dr. Kperogi worked as a reporter and news editor, as a researcher/speech writer at the (Nigerian) President's office, and as a journalism lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic and Ahmadu Bello University before relocating to the United States.

He was the Managing Editor of the Atlanta Review of Journalism History, a refereed academic journal. He was also Associate Director of Research at Georgia State University's Center for International Media Education (CIME).

He is currently an Associate Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at the School of Communication and Media, Kennesaw State University, Georgia's fastest-growing and third largest university. (Kennesaw is a suburb of Atlanta). He also writes two weekly newspaper columns: "Notes From Atlanta" in the Abuja-based DailyTrust on Saturday (formerly Weekly Trust) and "Politics of Grammar" in the DailyTrust on Sunday (formerly Sunday Trust).

In April 2014 Dr. Kperogi was honored as the Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Louisiana's Department of Communication. His research has also won international awards, such as the 2016 Top-Rated Research Paper Award at the 17th Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin, USA.